LGBT rights in Bangladesh

Section 377 of the Penal Code forbids carnal intercourse against the order of nature, regardless of the gender and sexual orientation of the participants.

377. Unnatural offenses: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offense described in this section.[9][10]

The ambit of Section 377 extends to any sexual union involving penile insertion. Thus, even consensual heterosexual acts such as fellatio and anal penetration may be punishable under this law.[11][10]

In 2009 and 2013, the Bangladeshi Parliament refused to overturn Section 377.[12]

Bangladeshi law doesn't recognize same-sex relationship, civil unions or any kind of domestic partnership for couples of opposite genders also.[13] Bangladeshi society doesn't support these either,[14] consensual romantic relationship and marriage between two opposite genders is supported though social conservatism is an impediment in this context also (society is less supportive) as culturally society is based on 'marriage arranged by guardian' system.[15][16]

On 23 July 2013, a lesbian couple was arrested for marrying in secret. Shibronty Roy Puja, a 16-year-old Hindu, and Sanjida Akter, 21-year-old Muslim, fled their town for Dhaka, the capital, and got married in a Hindu ceremony. They were then arrested and threatened with life imprisonment.[17] Similarly, another lesbian couple was arrested in October 2013 for their relationship. One member of the couple was described as having short hair and identified as the husband. The police had them take sex identification tests, and the doctors stated they were both females. The case was filed under Section 209, which is about unsocial activities.[18]

The Constitution of Bangladesh has several provisions that could apply to LGBT citizens:[19]

• Part II Article 19 – Promises equal opportunity for all citizens.
• Part III Article 27 – Promises equality before the law for all citizens.
• Freedom of religion and the press are both promised, but subject to restrictions based on "decency or morality".
• A citizen is not eligible to be a member of Parliament if they are convicted of a "criminal offence involving moral turpitude".

Since the birth of the country, homosexuality was never defined by anyone, nor was there any incident or record that it existed in society. No writer had written about homosexuality, as it was a huge taboo among Bengalis. Any writing regarding it was homophobic. Homosexuality was seen in some brothels in the 1980s, though at that time no one in Bengali used the word. Instead the word sodomy (in Bengali: payukam or 'anal sex') was used to indicate homosexuality. There were some homosexual prostitutes at that time, which was published in major Bengali-language newspapers.[20]

Bangladesh is a country where friendship between two same genders are allowed by the society but the people don't allow friendship between two opposite genders; in the context of homosexuality, it is still taboo in the whole Bangladesh and most of the Bangladeshi people don't know the real meaning of it. As homosexuality is taboo (the word is also taboo) and secret, the society is in the dark about the original definition of it. Some people consider it sodomy like the British colonial era, they do not possess the general idea of same gender romance, they are unaware of it, they only see friendship (or no sexuality) between people of the same genders; generally Bangladeshis disallows talking with strangers of opposite genders also.

Bangladeshi literature sector has a rich community of writers and the top authors have never promoted homosexuality though they have promoted heterosexual romance e.g. Humayun Ahmed is very popular among Bangladeshi novel-readers community, Ahmed wrote so many romantic (heterosexual) novels.

Formal laws against homosexuality were imposed by the British in 1860 when Bangladesh was a part of British India.[21] These laws were carried over into the Pakistan Penal Code following the partition of India in 1947, and continue to be part of Bangladesh's legal code since its independence from Pakistan in 1971.[22] First attempt to legalize homosexuality in Bangladesh was seen in 2010s by publishing the magazine Roopbaan, before it no record of exertion had been found to legalize it.

On 11 November 2013, hijras were recognised as a separate gender by the Bangladeshi Government in a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed. Along with males and females, hijras will be identified as a separate gender on official documents. A survey by the Ministry of Social Welfare showed that, as of 2013, there are 10,000 registered hijras in the country.[23] Despite this, Bangladesh does not have policies outlining measures individuals must undergo to legally change their gender on their official documents, nor is there clarity about who may qualify as a hijra. In December 2014, the Ministry of Social Welfare invited hijras to apply for government employment. In January 2015, the Ministry of Health issued a memorandum requesting that "necessary steps are taken to identify hijras by conducting thorough medical check-ups". These check-ups resulted in hijras having to publicly strip naked and have their genitals touched. Photographs of these check-ups were later released to the media who then claimed that hijras are "really men".[24] In July 2015, after a hijra witnessed the murder of a secular blogger, and successfully helped in the arrest of the perpetrators, who were Islamic radicals, the Bangladeshi government announced plans to recruit and enlist hijras as traffic police.[25] In April 2019, it was reported that Bangladesh will allow the "hijra" to vote under their proper gender identity, as officials have introduced "hijra" as a third gender option on voting forms for the first time.[26]

Although public display of affection between friends of the same gender in Bangladesh is commonly approved and does not raise any controversies, there appears to be a strong objection towards homosexuality as such.[27] This hostile attitude results from conservative culture of the country, with Islam being professed by approximately 90% of the population.Society's miscreants can involve in mob justice as they also consider homosexuality 'immoral' and 'abnormal' and also a social crime. These "morality minders" are not sanctioned by the government, thus miscreants take the advantages of the absence of civil rights law.[28]

In 2003, Dr. Gary Dowsett, an Australian professor, published a report titled A Review of Knowledge About the Sexual Networks and Behaviours of Men Who Have Sex with Men in Asia as part of a study on how the AIDS pandemic is impacting the nation.[29] The bulk of the report focused on male prostitution, but it did generate some public discussion about LGBT issues, with Indian movies and water poisoning through arsenic being blamed for making homosexuality more common.[30] In reply, some people criticized these negative viewpoints as being unsound scientifically and based on prejudice.

In 2011, a research-based engagement with a school of public health at a university in Bangladesh had aimed to raise public debate on sexuality and rights in a very sensitive political context. By bringing together stakeholders, including members of sexual minorities, academicians, service providers, media, policy makers and advocacy organizations, the research engagement worked to bring visibility to hidden and stigmatized sexuality and rights issues. Critical steps towards visibility for sexual minorities include creating safe spaces for meeting, developing learning materials for university students and engaging with legal rights groups.[31]

Bangladesh opened its first religious school for transgender people in Dhaka. More than 150 students were initially expected to study Islamic and vocational subjects for free. Classes started from November 7, 2020. There was no age limit set for the enrollment of students.[32]

Bangladeshi LGBT organisations

The first attempt to create an LGBT organisation in Bangladesh came in 1999, when a man called Rengyu, described as a "middle-aged foreign-educated guy from an indigenous tribe", opened the first online group for Bangladeshi gay people, called Gay Bangladesh.[33] It drew over 1,000 members; however, after Rengyu's death, its activity slowed down and the group itself became neglected.[33] In 2002, two other online groups appeared on the Yahoo! portal: Teen Gay Bangladesh (TGB), and Boys Only Bangladesh. Both groups were deleted by Yahoo! authorities in December 2002, and after several restarts and name changes, TGB formed under new name Bangladesh Gay Boys (BGB) and Boys Only Bangladesh, now called Boys of Bangladesh (BoB). The group is the largest network for Bangladeshi gay men, organising numerous LGBT rights-related events in Dhaka since 2009. Boys of Bangladesh aims at building a gay community in the country and repealing Section 377.[34]

LGBT rights rally during the Bengali New Year's festival (2015) in Dhaka.

In January 2014, Bangladesh's first LGBT magazine was published. The magazine is named Roopbaan after a Bengali folk character who represents the power of love.[35]

Since 2014, every year at the beginning of the Bengali new year on 14 April, a Pride event called Rainbow Rally has been organised in Dhaka. After threats, the 2016 event had to be cancelled. In 2014, Bangladesh held its first Trans Pride parade.[36] On 25 April 2016, Xulhaz Mannan, founder of Roopbaan magazine and organiser of the Rainbow Rally, was killed in his apartment together with a friend.[37]

Many people have turned to the Boys of Bangladesh to discuss their feelings and connect with similar individuals who face the same problems they do. The forum has not registered as an organisation because they do not want to associate themselves with the MSM (Men who have sex with men) label. They do not wish to fall under the umbrella of being MSMs because they view it as a degrading term. The group's coordinator has stated that the MSM label is only about men having sex with other men. It is considered more than that.[38] The online forum arranges events for gay men to meet and socialise. Not all people have access to their group because they do not have access to the internet. Nonetheless, BoB has more than 2,000 registered members, including Ph.D. holders and doctors.[38]

The UN Population Fund and several NGOs have put pressure on Bangladesh to address issues such as LGBT rights and sexuality education. These issues were discussed at the Sixth Asian and Pacific Population Conference which began on 16 September 2013. Bangladesh altogether opposed the UNFPA's idea to support LGBT rights. Bangladesh's permanent representative to the UN, Abulkalam Abdul Momen, said that adopting such policies would go against the country's social norms.[39]

In September 2014, at the International Conference on Population Development, Bangladesh refused the idea of providing rights to the LGBT community. Abdul Momen made similar comments in regards to the situation as he did the previous year at the Sixth Asian and Pacific Population Conference. He was quoted saying that, like other Muslim or even Christian countries, Bangladesh does not support LGBT rights because it does not represent their values.[40]

In April 2016, LGBT activist Xulhaz Mannan, founder and publisher of Roopbaan, the only magazine for the LGBT community in Bangladesh was killed along with Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy another LGBT activist.Ansar-al-Islam, an Al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility for the murders stating as he had himself confirmed his sexuality he needed to be killed according to shariah law.[41] In May 2019, Eight extremists were charged by Bangladesh police for the murders. Four of the eight are in custody and police are still searching for the others.[42][43]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LGBT rights in Bangladesh.

• Human rights in Bangladesh
• Sexuality in Bangladesh